Dr Andrea Marshall:

After five years of study a marine biologist has confirmed that a larger and more elusive manta is in fact a distinct species. Until now it was thought that there was only one manta ray species.

The newly-discovered species leads a different lifestyle to its smaller cousin and is migratory rather than residential.

Andrea Marshall is a PhD marine biologist living in Tofo Mozambique, she is sponsored by the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) to advance scientific knowledge of the ray whose large triangular pectoral fins can span almost 8m in width and can weigh more than 2,000 kg.

She suspected the existence of a separate species and was able to confirm her theory through genetic and morphological analysis. There may even be a third manta species that exists across temperate, tropical and subtropical waters worldwide.

Marshall revealed her findings at the American Elasmobranch Symposium in Canada.

In 2003 she moved to a small coastal village in southern Mozambique, to become the first marine biologist to study manta rays off the African coast.

Her observations of the unique spot patterns on the ventral surface of each ray enabled the identification of more than 900 individuals on a single reef, and she believes that southern Mozambique may boast the largest known population of manta rays in the world.

The discovery of a new species is likely to affect conservation ideas and policies about rays